DSF

Don't see a problem with adverts myself. I know another site had the option of making a payment so the ads don't appear to them. I would go banner plus a few smaller ad options in other places.

OK, latest results on the poll indicate most members would prefer advertising/sponsorship etc. as a way of funding. A fair bit of support for £5/£10 per annum membership as well.

My point of view on that is:

Why most people wish to see advertising/sponsorship??? coz they dont want to pay a penny for membership even that they know this forum is worth every penny! some people may think... advert r ok.. I wont click on them any way... but some one may do...

Is here any one who think few banners will rise enough funds for descent hosting and other forum needs?? i dont think so. but member ship would. in my opinion first think we should do is DELETE ALL members from data base with count of 0 posts. by charging mmbs ship we would know who is actualy willing to help otheres or simply just wish to learn bit more. c'mon people! £10 is just 2 printed mugs.

also I would like to know what is behind the word "sponsorship".

Andrew wrote:I personally think it should be optional on fees. We are trying to build a decent membership base and compulsory charges would hinder this. For those that donate to the forum then added benfits should be given. Website listings/backlinks, special offers arranged with suppliers, "members only" section could be created. Supplier Advertising /Supplier pages are a must in my opinion. Doesn't have to be a large fee and all suppliers should be welcome to have their own section. We already have a listing for suppliers so one step further shouldn't be a problem. We want this to be the main resource for sublimation and it has built well so far so it's time to move onward and upward.

Aggre with 99%!!!


my 5p

OK, so by saying I didn't want to re-open the debate......

We could dicsuss the ins and outs forever and never get around to moving forward.

My personal opinion for the record is that I'd sooner stay well clear of any adverts etc. and keep the forum clean. A simple advert banner at the top won't be too distracting but I'd prefer not to have one at all.

I agree, £10 per year is nothing for the support we all get regardless of our level of experience. Selling items through the forum is free and you have a great target audience that will often snap things up. It's all about being in a community and helping each other, yes there's the question as to whether you're helping your future competitor but it's up to you to find your own niche. When I ran my previous business full-time there were several dye-sub companies within a few miles and it took a lot of work to carve out my own market but it can be done.

I'll certainly not be removing all users Paul We do use member groups on the forum and I can immediately see who's contributed etc. I would add however that I've had many comments from members saying they're all too happy to contribute but never have...just a thought and not a criticsm.

So the poll was to give us an idea of what you all want. Not many people have voted so it isn't a great cross section, it's up to you to vote and tell me what you want. The final decision won't be popular with everyone but I'd sooner keep as many members happy as I can if I can't please everyone.

Paul wrote:

OK, latest results on the poll indicate most members would prefer advertising/sponsorship etc. as a way of funding. A fair bit of support for £5/£10 per annum membership as well.

also I would like to know what is behind the word "sponsorship".

Sorry Paul, I didn't answer this. Basically mean that the supplier has there own section in a category where they can have full control over what's put in there, offers, products and so on. I don't mean sponsorship of the site by a single supplier....we all know where that leads I think this would be a good idea anyway, even if we don't offer advertising.

Taking a step back from all of this tonight and thinking. Maybe we're looking at this too much. Is the past I asked for support to cover initial charges and can proudly say members rallied around with great generosity. Do we really need adverts? Do we really need membership? Ok, donations are thin on the ground right now but maybe we should stick to the tried and tested method.

Is this a fair way forward? Will a few members be paying the way for others ? Discuss!

I'm normally against adverts, and sponsorship by suppliers has its own pitfalls, and I've said all that before so I shan't be dwelling on it again. If it needs to be, it needs to be and that's all that needs to be said on the matter.

I would just like to echo an important point that Paul made -

Is here any one who think few banners will rise enough funds for descent hosting and other forum needs??

How much will you actually raise from adverts? I would imagine most people these days are (i) wary of clicking on anything that looks like unsolicited advertising - for security issues, and/or (ii) use ad-blocking software in their browsers so they won't see the adverts anyway.

I'm a member of a few forums and it's only when I check posts on my smartphone that I realise the forums have adverts. When I browse on my netbook, I don't see the adverts and didn't think there were any.

If all you're going to get is a trickle of pennies, with the result of everyone saying "I don't need to donate, you're clearly raking it in from the adverts", then the whole "adverts/banners" philosophy will be counter-productive.

We need to ensure that you cover all of your costs - not just part of them, otherwise you'll end up having to do both advertising *and* donations/membership fees.

Do you know roughly what your costs will be yet, Justin? Is it likely that donations would be enough?

Good points that I take onboard I just like to look from every angle.

Costs are still fairly low. I've signed up to a basic package that'll be £15 p/m paid quartely and the first payment was about £52. In time I hope we'll be able to justify a bigger package and this would be about £27 p/m but we can see how it goes.
Domain registration is on top of this but that's not a great amount. Future development costs have to be factored in, modifications etc. but this is ongoing.

It still isn't great shakes and I don't mind putting my hand into my pocket as I have on many occasions over the past year, of course I don't, but I want to know we can cover at least a good whack of the fees to allow me to concentrate on future developments.

No rash decisions, let's see how it all pans out with the virtual server. I'll be tied up with that for a while I'm guessing
I think we'd be in quite a unique position if we could run without advertising or fixed membership, just take a look at other forums. Maybe we could attract more members by throwing the net a little wider. When I started the DSF it was solely for sublimation but we quickly realised that all of the other subjects discussed here are linked in some way, perhaps we need to find more links?

Well to be honest I have gotten so much valuable information from this site as a newbie that the money it has saved me from doing things right rather than costing a fortune and doing things wrong then a membership fee is like people say the cost of approx 2 mugs out of your life a year.

Only downside I see is that ya maybe wanting a tenner




£9.99 sounds so much more attractive. .. Its a psychilogical thing innit.

I'd happily cough up

I couldnt agree more with what whispy has said and i'm happy to cough up too.

I think many of us have found the info provided here so very valuble and hopefully in turn over time we have also been able to provide a little of that back.

I am embrassed to say that I have not contributed thus far for fear of not knowing "what" to contribute and would my offerings be deemed meagere ones

AJLA wrote:I am embrassed to say that I have not contributed thus far for fear of not knowing "what" to contribute and would my offerings be deemed meagere ones

Don't be embarassed at all Mandy as what may seem meagre to you could mean a lot to the rest of us. Any snippet of info is worth its weight in gold to others.

Ian